


The Colonel and the General

by SwanFloatieKnight



Category: 1917 (Movie 2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Gossip, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Making Up, Military, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, World War I, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24722188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwanFloatieKnight/pseuds/SwanFloatieKnight
Summary: Captain Smith knows the real reason why Mackenzie might not listen to General Erinmore's orders.
Relationships: General Erinmore/Colonel Mackenzie
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	The Colonel and the General

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Writing_Fangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_Fangirl/gifts).



> :* someone told me that shipping Blake and Schofield was too mainstream, now here is my pairing XD [still up for Schofield/German Sniper tho]
> 
> Working Title: Bitch Fight

A/N: I posted this fic on Ao3, and on Ao3 alone. If you read this on any other website or platform, please consider that I did not consent to this.

* * *

“Who told him to go after them? Why did he not wait for reinforcements? Why did he not wait for bloody anything? For orders, for example! Showing off, probably! Yes, darling, I know you are a military genius. I know I was wrong to tell you that you will never be good enough to be a General, that you do not even deserve to be a Colonel. Oh god, how I hate this! And now you run off and try to play the hero! Fuck! Maybe I was right after all! Mackenzie, you are a shady bitch that cannot be trusted,” General Erinmore raged on. Lieutenant Gordon ducked his head when the General looked in his direction. “Oh if only those German bastards hadn’t cut our telephone lines! I would verbally punch this bloody attack out of his stupid brain! Oh, how can this man be such an idiot!” He breathed for a moment. “Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir?” Gordon looked up.

“We need to send a messenger to them. Someone to warn them. Get me someone to deliver these orders to the 2nd Devons so that Mackenzie stops playing the hero.” He did not say that he also had a very personal interest in Mackenzie making it out of this mess alive. After all it was still his idiot boyfriend they were talking about.

_“Corporal? If you do manage to get to Colonel Mackenzie… make sure there are witnesses.”_

_“They are direct orders, sir.”_

_“I know. But some men just want the fight.”_

The reason why Captain Smith told Lance Corporal Schofield to have witnesses when he brought Mackenzie the orders was not only that some men just wanted the fight. It was rather that some men had a huge bitch fight going on. And he just hoped that Mackenzie would swallow his stupid pride and listen to this Corporal’s message.

It was common knowledge among the general staff that General Erinmore and Colonel Mackenzie were a couple. They had met in 1915, and surviving the Somme together had apparently glued them together, for good or worse. It was evident that they loved one another, in a strange way, and that they could probably not be without the other one, but also Smith had never seen a couple fight as often and as passionate as they did. Maybe it was just their characters, maybe it was what war had done to them. People speculated about this just as much as the next reason for the near-break up the two would have. Some officers were convinced that they would break up for good before this year ended, and others were certain that they would be together for the rest of their lives, however long that might be in these uncertain times.

Right now, they were going through a crisis once again, and as much as Mackenzie might really think he had the Germans on the run, Smith also knew that he would go through with this attack if only to provoke Erinmore. To show his boyfriend that he knew better than him. Because it would just be like them if Erinmore told him to hold back the attack because he could, to show him who he was meddling with, and because it would be just like Mackenzie to ignore the orders because it was Erinmore who gave them.

So while the trucks drove along the bumpy road to the next bridge Smith hoped that Lance Corporal Schofield would heed his advice. And that those two bitches would for once get their shit together.

Colonel Mackenzie stared in wonder and annoyance at the exhausted Lance Corporal that stood in his cut-and-cover and had the balls to tell him that he had orders to call of the attack. And even worse, that those orders came from Erinmore. He was not in the least surprised that his boyfriend that bloody fucker was behind all this. Sometimes he wondered why he still called him his boyfriend. After all, in his moment of triumph, he had to come and ruin all the fun. They had the Germans on the run god damn it! And Erinmore even sent a messenger, bloody hell! That poor man could have been killed, and from the looks of it he nearly had been.

But the boy forced the letter into his hands, telling him that the orders were from Army Command, and he couldn’t very well ignore them then could he? So he tore open the envelope, skimmed through the letter and even though he felt hot rage at Erinmore boiling in his gut he told Major Hepburn to call off the attack. Erinmore be damned, he might be a selfish bastard who might not be pleased to see him have success for once, but when the Germans planned it he would not be stupid enough to send his men straight to their deaths.

_“I hoped today might be a good day.”_

A day on which he showed those German bastards who would win this bloody war. A day on which he also showed his boyfriend that no matter what he said he was a good soldier who deserved to be Colonel. Bloody Erinmore, showing off with his title as a General. Or rather trying to imply that his tactical judgement of difficult situations might not be as significant as his own. Only to be told his place by the General’s orders. And he might be right about the Germans, but damn him if Mackenzie had not wanted to show those bastards their place. If he had not wanted to show his boyfriend that he was more than capable of leading an attack that might very well decide the outcome of this war. That he could be trusted with responsibility. Sometimes he felt like everyone in the general staff knew this except for his boyfriend.

As soon as the telephone lines were repaired he would call Erinmore.

* * *

Epilogue

When the phone rang in the late evening Erinmore was relieved to hear that the lines apparently had been repaired. As soon as he picked up the phone though and heard that Mackenzie was on the line he would have loved to just hang up. He really was not in the mood to talk to his boyfriend right now. But at least he wanted to know if his messenger boys had made it through, so he thought better of it than to just cut Mackenzie off.

“Did they make it? Blake and Schofield, did they make it?”

Mackenzie sounded a little bitter when he answered: “Only Schofield. But he brought me your message. Your _orders_.”

Erinmore sighed. “Listen, Mackenzie, I know it was not the best way to tell you but it was the only way and I would have done it differently if there had been – ”

Mackenzie interrupted him. “No, it’s fine. I wanted to thank you. You did what was right even though you knew I would be mad at you. That I would hate you for forcing such orders upon me. But I see why you did it. You knew that you had to do it. You’re a good General. Britain should be glad to have you.”

“And you.” Erinmore smiled when he heard his boyfriend’s words. “You have shown greatness when you didn’t go through with the attack.” He paused, then he sighed wearily. “I hope you know that I love you. No matter what. No matter this attack and my orders. No matter even that stupid war. We will make it through and we will live together happily ever after. Like in a fairy tale.”

Mackenzie snorted. “But one with a bad start.”

“Doesn’t mean that the end has to be bad as well.”

“I miss you,” he heard Mackenzie whisper.

“I miss you too. And I can’t wait to see you again, in two weeks, in Amiens. I’ll fuck your stupid brain out.”

“Likewise.” Mackenzie laughed. “You owe me at least a blowjob for this though.”

“Granted.”

When Erinmore hung up he felt good. Better than he had since he had sent those two soldiers out on a mission to save lives. Even though it had cost one of their own.

**Author's Note:**

> first time I write for this fandom. Also I'm sure I have written WWI fics that were historically more accurate. But well. I hope you enjoyed it anyways. If you did, please leave me a comment and/or Kudos! :)


End file.
